Spain places 3.034 GW in RES auction at Eur24.75/MWh

Barcelona — Spain successfully placed 3.034 GW of new renewable capacity -- 2.036 GW of solar PV and 998 MW of wind -- in its first auction since 2017, at an average price of Eur24.47/MWh for PV and Eur25.31/MWh for wind, the government announced Jan. 26.

The prices of the PV capacity awarded ranged from Eur14.89/MWh to Eur28.90/MWh while wind awards ranged from Eur20/MWh to Eur28.89/MWh, each for a 12-year period, according to the Ecological Transition Ministry, which oversaw the process.

The overall average price per MW awarded was therefore equivalent to Eur24.75/MWh.

The auction was the first the country has held using a "pay as bid model". The auction rules were designed to award at least 1 GW of each PV and wind with an additional 1 GW of unspecified technology.

The Ministry did not publish a list of the winning projects or developers, although Spain-based Solaria announced after the sale it was awarded 180 MW in the auction at a price of Eur27.972/MWh while also signing a 10-year PPA for 80 MW with an unnamed buyer.

Another winner to step forward was Portugal's EDP, which said Jan. 27 it won 143 MW of projects, both PV and wind, without further details.

According to Spanish press reports, local promoter Capital Energy took the largest amount, scooping up 620 MW of wind projects. The company did not comment when contacted by S&P Global Platts on Jan. 27.

Overall, a total 84 bidders put forward plans for 9.7 GW, the Ministry said, with 32 of them taking capacity.

The outcome price is 43% lower than the prevalent curve prices for the 12-year period of the contracts' duration, it added.

The new capacity could bring pool prices down by Eur1.30/MWh once online, the Ministry said, made up of Eur0.80/MWh from displacing thermal plants from setting the marginal price, and a further Eur0.50/MWh from incorporating the auction prices in the market price.

The price effect is likely to be seen from 2023, it said, once much of the capacity is online.

The winners now have a 2-month timeframe to register their plants, then six months to identify the location of the projects and then 12 months to provide proof of planning permission.

The PV plants have to be completed by February 2023 and wind plants by February 2024.

The government intends to hold a number of auctions between now and 2025 to bring it closer to its 2030 National Energy and Climate Plan target of 60 GW of new renewable capacity.

The auction mechanism has flexibility to tailored the amounts offered in each sale to ensure targets are met.